The government is considering halving the number of guests invited to future cherry blossom-viewing events as part of a broad review amid allegations that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has used the publicly funded gathering for his own benefit, officials said Thursday.
To address growing criticism about the yearly event held since 1952 to honor people such as athletes and celebrities for their accomplishments, the government may reduce its size by half from around 18,000 earlier this year, according to the officials.
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